Technology based healthcare in India faces several opportunities and challenges. While technologies like telemedicine, medical imaging, and health information systems have benefits, their utilization remains limited due to issues like high costs, lack of trained personnel, low awareness among the population, and insufficient infrastructure support. Emerging areas that could enhance healthcare if properly implemented include AI, robotics, digital libraries, and personalized online health systems. However, overcoming limitations such as vendor lock-in, high training requirements, and interoperability issues will be important for the successful adoption of these technologies in India.

1. Technology based Health care
an Indian perspective :
opportunities and challenges
Dr. Kannan Srinivasan,
Associate Professor,
Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies,
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences
and Technology,
Trivandrum 695 011, India

2. About our Institute
• The Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute
for Medical Sciences &
Technology(SCTIMST),Thiruvanan
thapuram is an Institute of National
Importance established by an Act
of the Indian Parliament. It is an
autonomous Institute under the
administrative control of the
Department of Science and
Technology, Government of India.

3. • It has a 239-bedded hospital for tertiary
care of cardiovascular and neurological
diseases, a biomedical technology wing
with facilities for developing medical
devices from a conceptual stage to
commercialization, and a center of
excellence for training and research in
public health.

4. • The Institute has the status of a University
and offers postdoctoral, doctoral and
postgraduate courses in medical
specialties, public health, nursing, basic
sciences and health care technology. It is
a member of the Association of Indian
Universities and the Association of
Commonwealth Universities.

5. Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science
Studies (AMCHSS) is the Health Sciences wing
of the (SCTIMST)
• With the establishment of AMCHSS, SCTIMST
acquired the unique combination of tertiary care,
biomedical technology research and health science
training and research. The main objective of the
AMCHSS is to train health professionals in health
research and in formulation and implementation of
health policies. Served by core and visiting faculty, the
AMC offers an international Master of Public Health
(MPH) programme, short courses and Ph.D.
programme catering to all South Asian countries. The
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of
India recognized AMCHSS as a 'Centre of Excellence'
for public health training and sponsors candidates for
the MPH under the WHO Fellowship Programme.

6. Introduction
• Healthcare technology is in use for a decade or
more in India. The use of technology in
healthcare especially in public health is very
common due to the recent development in
Information Communication Technology. The
cost of equipments in ICT in general are falling.
But in healthcare, some of the equipments costs
very high. Such equipments are commissioned
in various locations in India. This includes some
of the remote areas.

7. Utilisation of Technology in
Healthcare
• The present talk is an attempt to assess
the effect of such technology on the public
health system. The utilisation of such
systems depends on various factors.

8. • They include, costs involved in maintaining
such systems, the benefits of such
systems to the health personnel and the
general population, what are the
advantages of such systems over the
traditional systems, what are the benefits
of such systems on the administration, the
impact on the managerial efficiency, how
does the system address the HR needs in
the public health, what the skills expected
out of the health personnel and the
general population for using such systems.

9. Trends in Medical Technology
• Telehealth
• The scope offered by IT in the areas of
Telehealth and Medical Education are
vast and their value is becoming
increasingly important new low cost
diagnostic tools.
• Significant steps in this area are the
initiatives taken in the area of
Telehealth

10. • with its compact size, good medical
establishments and improving connectivity gains
tremendously by extensive deployment of
Telehealth network
• As byproduct, the Online Education will gain
deep roots. These have great potential in
improving quality of life, and new areas of R&D
activities and industry initiatives related to
healthcare with far reaching implications for the
economy.

11. Online Medical Education
• Other aspect of the facility is to enable
online Online Medical Education. This will
be supported by a facilitating institution
with the value added services, educational
technology services, content facility and
reference materials.

12. Health Information System
• Computerised Medical Information System
• Computerised Medical Information systems are
the “formal arrangements by which the facts
concerning the health or health care of patients
are stored and processed in computers. They
are Comprehensive system coordinates patient
care activities within the hospital by linking
computer terminals in patient care areas to
hospital departments.

13. • These systems provide communicaitons
networks between departments as well as
storage and retrieval of medical
information. Affect organisational features
such as job design, work force
compositional and organisational
structure. Important Factors are attitudes
of the physicians the nurses, medical and
paramedical personnel and Skills

14. IT and Health Communication
• Computers and Internet used as a media
for health. It is used for developing
materials, for educating the people, and E-
Governance.

15. Medical Informatics and Imaging
Techniques
• The advances in Information Technology
have revolutionized the field of Radiology
and Medical Imaging. Many of this gives
an opportunity for the Computer Scientists
and the Radiologists to work together for
better patient care.

16. • The technology requires people trained in
acquisition, processing, interpretation, storage
and communication of health-related and
healthcare including imaging data, in both health
education and research and in patient care. One
limitation the field of research faces is getting
people trained thoroughly in the scientific
method of such technology in similar settings.
One may have to design experimental studies,
have a capacity to evaluate a system and having
potential in preparing scientific or technical
reports.

17. • One should also have ability in
understanding the scientific basis of
clinical and engineering problems
encountered in healthcare fields. It
requires better understanding of the use of
computers and knowledge-based
computing methods appropriately.

18. • This may have two types of approaches.
One for the Healthcare professionals
implementing IT in their work place and
Computing professionals/engineers who
are involved in developing systems and
support.

19. There are specific areas of
research identified. They are,
• 1. Computers for Imaging
• 2. Computers for Management in Health Care , Radiology and Hospital Information
systems (RIS,
• HIS)
• 3. Computers and Networking in a Radiology Department
• 4. Computers in Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine
• 5. Operating systems
• 6. Post processing techniques
• 7. Computed Radiography
• 8. Functional MRI - Technique, paradigm designing and post processing techniques,
Diffusion tensor imaging
• 9. Digital Mammography
• 10. Neuroimaging Informatics Cardiac Imaging Informatics
• 11. Standards for Imaging- DICOM, HL-7, HIPAA
• 12. PACS, Teleradiology
• 13. Internet Resources for technologists and medical professionals.
• 14. Costing and economics of a film less environment

20. • There are some developments in this area. They are,
• Digital Images
• Image Acquisition
• Image Transmission
• Data Storage
• Magnetic Disks
• Magnetic Tape
• Magnetooptical and Optical Disks
• Read/Write Memory
• Data Display
• Computers and Networking for Radiology

21. • For these technologies one need to
know some Languages and Databases
for PACS, HIS, and RIS
• RDBMS

22. STORAGE AND ARCHIVING
• redundant array of independent or
inexpensive drives (RAID) group of hard disk
drives
• A magneto-optical disc (MOD) transmission
of data. Compact disc recordable (CDR)
• Advanced intelligent tape (AIT)
• n the future, holographic storage may permit
hundredfold improvements in density and
transfer time, compared with CDR, at a cost
comparable to that of CDR. Holographic memory
may become available within a year, and it is
likely to be incorporated in PACS within 3 years.

23. DISPLAY AND COMPRESSION
• PACS NETWORKS
• A PACS consists of workstations for
interpretation; imaging modalities that gather
CT, ultrasound, and MRI amounts, for the use
of those without access to the network);
image servers to transfer and hold
information within the PACS; an archive of
off-line information; and a RIS to track
activity from a text standpoint. A network is
needed to reach each of these devices.

24. • NETWORKING DEVICES
• unshielded twisted pair (UTP)
• Unlike switches, they have
their own IP addresses; they
are able to direct Gateways
can, in addition, repackage
packets in a way that permits
two different network
protocols, such as DICOM
PACS and a RIS

25. • The mass market for consumer electronics has
allowed medical imaging to be based on
commercial computer technology. Health care
was, in essence, waiting for the information
commodities of the public to reach the level of
power needed for radiology; in many respects,
this has come to pass, and progress continues.
Prices are decreasing while performance
increases. The Internet will have the same effect
on medical networks. The future is clearly digital.

26. • Modern, standard networks have made
PACS practical, and switching technology
has solved the problems inherent in the
point to point nature of PACS architecture.
Ethernet and ATM protocols can sustain
even heavy PACS traffic. Standard cabling
using Category 5 UTP or fiber-optic cable
is sufficient for PACS speeds.

27. fMRI
• The goal of functional neuroimaging is to map the activity
of the living brain in space and time. The gold standard
for measuring brain cell activity is direct and invasive
electrical recording of membrane potential of individual
neurons; however, such measurements are limited to
certain experimental conditions. The objective of
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) the brain
corresponding to specific tasks or stimuli. Interest in
fMRI is growing rapidly since it is noninvasive, provides
excellent resolution, and can be performed on widely
available instrumentation. Therefore, fMRI can be
expected to play an increasing role in the neurosciences,
as well as clinically in the diagnosis and therapy of brain
disorders.

28. The Current
reality

29. • TeleMedicine
• In total number of consultations 78 % are
from private agencies
• In total number of consultations 22 % are
for the common ailments
• In case of the costs are concerned the
cost saved is cost spent

31. Tertiary Level Utilisation
IAF NH Bl're
Army
AIIMS 9
66 SRMC
SGPGI, Luck 8 1%
10%
16 1% AIMS
PGIMER,CHA
3% NH Bl're
46 SGRH
7% 274
43% TMC Mumbai
ApolloCh
Fortis
Fortis
63 PGIMER,CHA
10% SGPGI, Luck
ApolloCh
AIIMS
55 TMC Mumbai AIMS
SGRH SRMC
9% 15 1 24
Army
61
2% 0% 4% IAF
10%

32. • What are the benefits?
• How much popular is the technology?
• Whether the people who are in need are
benefited?
• What is the impact of Telemedicine on the
community?
• Whether it is really useful technology and
achieved the objectives?
• Why it is not fully successful?

33. • What is next?
• How to use these technologies for the new
avenues?
• If the above are not useful, what are emerging
technologies in healthcare?
• What are the skills required for the above
technologies?

34. TM failures reasons
• 1.Qualified personnel
• 2.More responsibility to physicians
• 3.utilization is very low among more than 60% of hospitals(less than
20 consultations per month)
• 4.Only private players taking more interest
• 5.moneywise no saving as per the survey more than 50 % metioned
they did not save money on Cme
• 6.on the treatment depends much on other factors such as
availability of personnel, qualifications, system failures and so on.
• 7.No support after installation
• 8.cme just uses the vc and no tool to followup
• 9.it is not organised properly
• 10.egov not a popular using these systems

35. Other technologies
• Medical Imaging
•
• 1.Availability and accessibility is very limited
• 2.the precision is very low ( less than 1.5 testla)
• 3.no software to further process or manipulate the
results
• 4.incompatibility or network externalities such as one's
out put is not playable in other systems this ultimately
lead to use of hard copies
• 5.Untrained man power
• 6.many govt medical colleges do not have facilties such
as MRI- first one just come in Kozhicode last month

36. • 7.Pvt medical college do not have them at all
• 8.paramedical staffs not available for those
mentioned technologies
• 9.expensive technologies- no indegenous
technologies
• 10.expensive to train the personnel
• 11.brain drain
• 12.non availability of computer science support

37. Other IT related technologies
• HIS
• PACS
• Virtual Labs
• Expert Systems
• Online healthcare systems
• Digital Library solutions
• Learning management system solutions
• Embedded systems
• Object Orientation
• Peripherals

38. • Storing, retrieval and processing
• Bioaustronautics
• Functional neuroimaging
• Molecular imaging
• Biomedical informatics
• Robotics – less invasive surgeries
• Medical clinical imaging informatics
• Cracking the codes of disease with information
technology

39. • AI in healthcare
• Decision support- biomedical
• RFID
• Web2.0 / 3.0

40. Limitation
• Vendor driven